Percy Jackson The Complete Collection (118 page)

Athena called, ‘Annabeth Chase, my own daughter.’

Annabeth squeezed my arm, then walked forward and knelt at her mother’s feet.

Athena smiled. ‘You, my daughter, have exceeded all expectations. You have used your wits, your strength and your courage to defend this city, and our seat of power. It has come to our attention that Olympus is … well, trashed.
The Titan lord did much damage that will have to be repaired. We could rebuild it by magic, of course, and make it just as it was. But the gods feel that the city could be improved. We will take this as an opportunity. And you, my daughter, will design these improvements.’

Annabeth looked up, stunned. ‘My – my lady?’

Athena smiled wryly. ‘You
are
an architect, are you not? You have studied the techniques of Daedalus himself. Who better to redesign Olympus, and make it a monument that will last for another aeon?’

‘You mean … I can design whatever I want?’

‘As your heart desires,’ the goddess said. ‘Make us a city for the ages.’

‘As long as you have plenty of statues of me,’ Apollo added.

‘And me,’ Aphrodite agreed.

‘Hey, and me!’ Ares said. ‘Big statues with huge wicked swords and –’

‘All right!’ Athena interrupted. ‘She gets the point. Rise, my daughter – official architect of Olympus.’

Annabeth rose in a trance and walked back towards me.

‘Way to go,’ I told her, grinning.

For once, she was at a loss for words. ‘I’ll – I’ll have to start planning … Drafting paper, and, um, pencils –’

‘PERCY JACKSON!’ Poseidon announced. My name echoed around the chamber.

All talking died down. The room was silent except for the crackle of the hearth fire. Everyone’s eyes were on me – all the gods, the demigods, the Cyclopes, the spirits. I walked into the middle of the throne room. Hestia smiled
at me reassuringly. She was in the form of a girl now, and she seemed happy and content to be sitting by her fire again. Her smile gave me courage to keep walking.

First I bowed to Zeus. Then I knelt at my father’s feet.

‘Rise, my son,’ Poseidon said.

I stood uneasily.

‘A great hero must be rewarded,’ Poseidon said. ‘Is there anyone here who would deny that my son is deserving?’

I waited for someone to pipe up. The gods never agreed on anything, and many of them still didn’t like me, but not a single one protested.

‘The council agrees,’ Zeus said. ‘Percy Jackson, you will have one gift from the gods.’

I hesitated. ‘Any gift?’

Zeus nodded grimly. ‘I know what you will ask. The greatest gift of all. Yes, if you want it, it shall be yours. The gods have not bestowed this gift on a mortal hero in many centuries, but Perseus Jackson – if you wish it, you shall be made a god. Immortal. Undying. You shall serve as your father’s lieutenant for all time.’

I stared at him, stunned. ‘Um … a god?’

Zeus rolled his eyes. ‘A dim-witted god, apparently. But yes. With the consensus of the entire council, I can make you immortal. Then I will have to put up with you forever.’

‘Hmm,’ Ares mused. ‘That means I can smash him to a pulp as often as I want, and he’ll just keep coming back for more. I like this idea.’

‘I approve as well,’ Athena said, though she was looking at Annabeth.

I glanced back. Annabeth was trying not to meet my
eyes. Her face was pale. I flashed back to two years ago, when I’d thought she was going to take the pledge to Artemis and become a Hunter. I’d been on the edge of a panic attack, thinking that I’d lose her. Now she looked pretty much the same way.

I thought about the Three Fates, and the way I’d seen my life flash by. I could avoid all that. No aging, no death, no body in the grave. I could be a teenager forever, in top condition, powerful and immortal, serving my father. I could have power and eternal life.

Who could refuse that?

Then I looked at Annabeth again. I thought about my friends from camp – Charles Beckendorf, Michael Yew, Silena Beauregard, so many others who were now dead. I thought about Ethan Nakamura and Luke.

And I knew what to do.

‘No,’ I said.

The council was silent. The gods frowned at each other like they must have misheard.

‘No?’ Zeus said. ‘You are … turning
down
our generous gift?’

There was a dangerous edge to his voice, like a thunderstorm about to erupt.

‘I’m honoured and everything,’ I said. ‘Don’t get me wrong. It’s just … I’ve got a lot of life left to live. I’d hate to peak in my sophomore year.’

The gods were glaring at me, but Annabeth had her hands over her mouth. Her eyes were shining. And that kind of made up for it.

‘I do want a gift, though,’ I said. ‘Do you promise to grant my wish?’

Zeus thought about this. ‘If it is within our power.’

‘It is,’ I said. ‘And it’s not even difficult. But I need your promise on the River Styx.’

‘What?’ Dionysus cried. ‘You don’t trust us?’

‘Someone once told me,’ I said, looking at Hades, ‘you should always get a solemn oath.’

Hades shrugged. ‘Guilty.’

‘Very well!’ Zeus growled. ‘In the name of the council, we swear by the River Styx to grant your
reasonable
request as long as it is within our power.’

The other gods muttered assent. Thunder boomed, shaking the throne room. The deal was made.

‘From now on, I want you to properly recognize the children of the gods,’ I said. ‘All the children … of
all
the gods.’

The Olympians shifted uncomfortably.

‘Percy,’ my father said, ‘what exactly do you mean?’

‘Kronos couldn’t have risen if it hadn’t been for a lot of demigods who felt abandoned by their parents,’ I said. ‘They felt angry, resentful and unloved, and they had a good reason.’

Zeus’s royal nostrils flared. ‘You dare accuse –’

‘No more undetermined children,’ I said. ‘I want you to promise to claim your children – all your demigod children – by the time they turn thirteen. They won’t be left out in the world on their own at the mercy of monsters. I want them claimed and brought to camp so they can be trained right, and survive.’

‘Now wait just a moment,’ Apollo said, but I was on a roll.

‘And the minor gods,’ I said. ‘Nemesis, Hecate, Morpheus,
Janus, Hebe – they all deserve a general amnesty and a place at Camp Half-Blood. Their children shouldn’t be ignored. Calypso and the other peaceful Titan-kind should be pardoned, too. And Hades –’

‘Are you calling me a
minor god
?’ Hades bellowed.

‘No, my lord,’ I said quickly. ‘But your children should not be left out. They should have a cabin at camp. Nico has proven that. No unclaimed demigods will be crammed into the Hermes cabin any more, wondering who their parents are. They’ll have their own cabins, for all the gods. And no more pact of the Big Three. That didn’t work anyway. You’ve got to stop trying to get rid of powerful demigods. We’re going to train them and accept them instead. All children of the gods will be welcome and treated with respect. That is my wish.’

Zeus snorted. ‘Is that all?’

‘Percy,’ Poseidon said, ‘you ask much. You presume much.’

‘I hold you to your oath,’ I said. ‘All of you.’

I got a lot of steely looks. Strangely, it was Athena who spoke up: ‘The boy is correct. We have been unwise to ignore our children. It proved a strategic weakness in this war and almost caused our destruction. Percy Jackson – I have had my doubts about you, but perhaps –’ she glanced at Annabeth, and then spoke as if the words had a sour taste – ‘perhaps I was mistaken. I move that we accept the boy’s plan.’

‘Humph,’ Zeus said. ‘Being told what to do by a mere child. But I suppose …’

‘All in favour,’ Hermes said.

All the gods raised their hands.

‘Um, thanks,’ I said.

I turned, but before I could leave, Poseidon called, ‘Honour guard!’

Immediately the Cyclopes came forward and made two lines from the thrones to the door – an aisle for me to walk through. They came to attention.

‘All hail, Perseus Jackson,’ Tyson said. ‘Hero of Olympus … and my big brother!’

Annabeth and I were on our way out when I spotted Hermes in a side courtyard of the palace. He was staring at an Iris-message in the mist of a fountain.

I glanced at Annabeth. ‘I’ll meet you at the elevator.’

‘You sure?’ Then she studied my face. ‘Yeah, you’re sure.’

Hermes didn’t seem to notice me approach. The Iris-message images were going so fast I could hardly understand them. Mortal newscasts from all over the country flashed by – scenes of Typhon’s destruction, the wreckage our battle had left across Manhattan, the president doing a news conference, the mayor of New York, some army vehicles riding down the Avenue of the Americas.

‘Amazing,’ Hermes murmured. He turned towards me. ‘Three thousand years, and I will never get over the power of the Mist … and mortal ignorance.’

‘Thanks, I guess.’

‘Oh, not you. Although I suppose I should wonder, turning down immortality.’

‘It was the right choice.’

Hermes looked at me curiously then returned his attention to the Iris-message. ‘Look at them. They’ve already decided Typhon was a freak series of storms. Don’t I wish. They haven’t figured out how all the statues in Lower
Manhattan got removed from their pedestals and hacked to pieces. They keep showing a shot of Susan B. Anthony strangling Frederick Douglass. But I imagine they’ll even come up with a logical explanation for that.’

‘How bad is the city?’

Hermes shrugged. ‘Surprisingly, not too bad. The mortals are shaken, of course. But this is New York. I’ve never seen such a resilient bunch of humans. I imagine they’ll be back to normal in a few weeks and, of course, I’ll be helping.’

‘You?’

‘I’m the messenger of the gods. It’s my job to monitor what the mortals are saying and, if necessary, help them make sense of what’s happened. I’ll reassure them. Trust me, they’ll put this down to a freak earthquake, or a solar flare. Anything but the truth.’

He sounded bitter. George and Martha curled around his caduceus, but they were silent, which made me think that Hermes was
really
, really angry. I probably should’ve kept quiet, but I said, ‘I owe you an apology.’

Hermes gave me a cautious look. ‘And why is that?’

‘I thought you were a bad father,’ I admitted. ‘I thought you abandoned Luke because you knew his future and didn’t do anything to stop it.’

‘I
did
know his future,’ Hermes said miserably.

‘But you knew more than just the bad stuff – that he’d turn evil. You understood what he would do in the end. You knew he’d make the right choice. But you couldn’t tell him, could you?’

Hermes stared at the fountain. ‘No one can tamper with fate, Percy, not even a god. If I had warned him
what was to come, or tried to influence his choices, I would’ve made things even worse. Staying silent, staying away from him … That was the hardest thing I’ve ever done.’

‘You had to let him find his own path,’ I said, ‘and play his part in saving Olympus.’

Hermes sighed. ‘I should not have got mad at Annabeth. When Luke visited her in San Francisco … Well, I knew she would have a part to play in his fate. I foresaw that much. I thought perhaps she could do what I could not and save him. When she refused to go with him, I could barely contain my rage. I should have known better. I was really angry with myself.’

‘Annabeth did save him,’ I said. ‘Luke died a hero. He sacrificed himself to kill Kronos.’

‘I appreciate your words, Percy. But Kronos isn’t dead. You can’t kill a Titan.’

‘Then –’

‘I don’t know,’ Hermes grumbled. ‘None of us do. Blown to dust. Scattered to the wind. With luck, he’s spread so thin that he’ll never be able to form a consciousness again, much less a body. But don’t mistake him for dead, Percy.’

My stomach did a queasy somersault. ‘What about the other Titans?’

‘In hiding,’ Hermes said. ‘Prometheus sent Zeus a message with a bunch of excuses for supporting Kronos. “I was just trying to minimize the damage,” blah, blah. He’ll keep his head low for a few centuries if he’s smart. Krios has fled, and Mount Othrys has crumbled into ruins. Oceanus slipped back into the deep ocean when it was clear Kronos had lost. Meanwhile, my son Luke is dead.
He died believing I didn’t care about him. I will never forgive myself.’

Hermes slashed his caduceus through the mist. The Iris-picture disappeared.

‘A long time ago,’ I said, ‘you told me the hardest thing about being a god was not being able to help your children. You also told me that you couldn’t give up on your family, no matter how tempting they made it.’

‘And now you know I’m a hypocrite?’

‘No, you were right. Luke loved you. At the end, he realized his fate. I think he realized why you couldn’t help him. He remembered what was important.’

‘Too late for him and me.’

‘You have other children. Honour Luke by recognizing them. All the gods can do that.’

Hermes’ shoulders sagged. ‘They’ll try, Percy. Oh, we’ll all try to keep our promise. And maybe for a while things will get better. But we gods have never been good at keeping oaths. You were born because of a broken promise, eh? Eventually we’ll become forgetful. We always do.’

‘You can change.’

Hermes laughed. ‘After three thousand years, you think the gods can change their nature?’

‘Yeah,’ I said. ‘I do.’

Hermes seemed surprised by that. ‘You think … Luke actually loved me? After all that happened?’

‘I’m sure of it.’

Hermes stared at the fountain. ‘I’ll give you a list of my children. There’s a boy in Wisconsin. Two girls in Los Angeles. A few others. Will you see that they get to camp?’

‘I promise,’ I said. ‘And I won’t forget.’

George and Martha twirled around the caduceus. I know snakes can’t smile, but they seemed to be trying.

‘Percy Jackson,’ Hermes said, ‘you might just teach us a thing or two.’

Another god was waiting for me on the way out of Olympus. Athena stood in the middle of the road with her arms crossed and a look on her face that made me think
uh-oh.
She’d changed out of her armour, into jeans and a white blouse, but she didn’t look any less warlike. Her grey eyes blazed.

‘Well, Percy,’ she said. ‘You will stay mortal.’

‘Um, yes, ma’am.’

‘I would know your reasons.’

‘I want to be a regular guy. I want to grow up. Have, you know, a regular high-school experience.’

‘And my daughter?’

‘I couldn’t leave her,’ I admitted, my throat dry. ‘Or Grover,’ I added quickly. ‘Or –’

‘Spare me.’ Athena stepped close to me, and I could feel her aura of power making my skin itch. ‘I once warned you, Percy Jackson, that to save a friend you would destroy the world. Perhaps I was mistaken. You seem to have saved both your friends and the world. But think very carefully about how you proceed from here. I have given you the benefit of the doubt. Don’t mess up.’

Just to prove her point, she erupted in a column of flame, charring the front of my shirt.

Annabeth was waiting for me at the elevator. ‘Why do you smell like smoke?’

‘Long story,’ I said. Together we made our way down to the street level. Neither of us said a word. The music was awful – Neil Diamond or something. I should’ve made that part of my gift from the gods: better elevator tunes.

When we got into the lobby, I found my mother and Paul arguing with the bald security guy, who’d returned to his post.

‘I’m telling you,’ my mom yelled, ‘we have to go up! My son –’ Then she saw me and her eyes widened. ‘Percy!’

She hugged the breath right out of me.

‘We saw the building lit up blue,’ she said. ‘But then you didn’t come down. You went up
hours
ago!’

‘She was getting a bit anxious,’ Paul said dryly.

‘I’m all right,’ I promised as my mom hugged Annabeth. ‘Everything’s okay now.’

‘Mr Blofis,’ Annabeth said, ‘that was wicked sword work.’

Paul shrugged. ‘It seemed like the thing to do. But, Percy, is this really … I mean, this story about the six-hundredth floor?’

‘Olympus,’ I said. ‘Yeah.’

Paul looked at the ceiling with a dreamy expression. ‘I’d like to see that.’

‘Paul,’ my mom chided. ‘It’s not for mortals. Anyway, the important thing is we’re safe. All of us.’

I was about to relax. Everything felt perfect. Annabeth and I were okay. My mom and Paul had survived. Olympus was saved.

But the life of a demigod is never so easy. Just then
Nico ran in from the street, and his face told me something was wrong.

‘It’s Rachel,’ he said. ‘I just ran into her down on Thirty-second.’

Annabeth frowned. ‘What’s she done this time?’

‘It’s where she’s gone,’ Nico said. ‘I told her she would die if she tried, but she insisted. She just took Blackjack and –’

‘She took my
pegasus
?’ I demanded.

Nico nodded. ‘She’s heading to Half-Blood Hill. She said she had to get to camp.’